New York's Chelsea area has had a face lift. Off the tourist route for a long time, it is now definitely a place to be explored
It’s not that long ago that Chelsea was one of Manhattan’s more rough-and-tumble neighbourhoods but in recent times it has slowly been rejuvenated. This is largely due to the city’s gay community seeking an alternative to the high rents in Greenwich Village. Art galleries have flourished and the restaurant scene has expanded.
The Birth of Chelsea
The Chelsea area was named by a British Army Captain, Thomas Clarke, who, after the French and Indian Wars ended in 1763, purchased a piece of land on the west side of Manhattan and named it Chelsea after London’s Royal Chelsea Hospital for Soldiers. By the 1850’s the land was divided into lots and developed.
Here was born New York’s first cooperative apartment complex - the tallest building in the city until 1902 when more affluent people began to move into the area. Eventually, in 1905, the residential nature of the building folded and it was turned into a hotel - which eventually became the Chelsea Hotel - haunt of famous writers and musicians.
The Chelsea Hotel
The hotel accommodated world famous writers like Eugene O’Neil, Thomas Wolfe, and Arthur C. Clarke who wrote ‘2001: A Space Oddyssey’. While in residence, Dylan Thomas died of alcohol poisoning in 1953. Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols stabbed his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, to death on October 12, 1978. Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, and the Grateful Dead all found their way to the Chelsea in the 1960’s. On a more constructive level, Thomas Wolfe assembled ‘You Can’t Go Home Again’from the thousands of pages of manuscript stacked in his room
Leonard Cohen wrote his song ‘Chelsea Hotel’ in the bar for Janis Joplin. It’s not the kindest of compliments.
The last verse goes:
don't mean to suggest that I loved you the best,
I can't keep track of each fallen robin.
I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel,
that's all, I don't even think of you that often.
Maybe the Chelsea Hotel brought out the worst in people?
The Empire Diner
If you want to see what an all American diner looked like in the good old days, wander over to 210 10th Avenue. The Empire Diner is not just any old diner, but a gleaming black and white Art Deco train car built in 1946, You don’t come here for haute cuisine but it’s probably the most beautiful all-American diner you will ever step foot in.
The Chelsea Historic District
A quiet residential area of leafy streets running from 9th to about 10th Ave between 20th and 21st street. There are some lovely houses built in the Greek Revival style and also many examples of New York’s famous terraces of‘brownstones’. Many of these houses were built in the 19th century and are decorated with wrought iron window grilles and staircases. There are guided walks around the area.
Green Oases on a Hot Day
The General Theological Seminary, the oldest Seminary of the Episcopal Church, was founded in 1817 and has been a New York City landmark since 1826. A cool rest in a beautiful garden. A great place to relax and breathe in some fresh air.
St. Peter’s Church346 West 20th Street also provides a leafy resting place. If you are there on certain Sunday afternoons at 4pm there is a varied and dynamic music series called Music in Chelsea, featuring classical chamber music, jazz and folk.
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